What costs more Money to eat Healthy or Not?

My clients Melissa and Diana brought up a great question at dinner... Is it more expensive to eat healthy or not? I am going to compare the diet in calories and cost, the results are interesting:

Lets take an average day of healthy food for an active 180lb man or 2500 calorie diet:

Apple $.50 & 50cals
Banana $.19 & 100cals
2 packets of oatmeal .75 & 200cals
1/4 cup of Nuts .50 & 100cals
1/4 cup Raisins .25 $ 100cals
10 Baby Carrots .50 & 25cals
Celery .25 & 10cals
1tbsp Peanut Butter .25 & 100cals
2 slices whole wheat bread .25 & 200cals
2oz Turkey 1.00 & 150cals
1oz cheese .25 & 75cals
1 Tomato .50 & 50cals
1 Granola Bar .25 & 100cals
1 cup chicken soup 1.00 & 100cals
1 cup brown rice .50 & 300cals
1 Bell Pepper 1.00 & 100cals
1/2 Onion .50 & 10cals
4oz Steak 1.00 & 250cals
1 cup spinach .50 & 50cals
1/4 cup walnuts .25 & 100cals
1/4 cup dried cranberries .25 & 25cals
2tbsp Olive Oil .25 & 200cals
8oz Milk .25 & 100cals

Total $10.50 & 2500 calories
*Great source of vitamins, minerals, high in potassium, fiber and healthy fats.
**This diet will give you energy throughout the day, increase focus, help to prevent sickness and disease (the list goes on).

VS

Now, Lets take the diet of a 300lb lethargic man eating 3000 calories/day:

1 McDonald's McFrappe $2.00 & 400calories
1 Diet Coke .50 & 0calories
1 Big Mac combo meal 6.50 & 1200cals
1 bag Doritos .75 & 150cals
1 Chicken Parmigiana Frozen Dinner 4.00 & 750cals
5 Oreos 1.00 & 250cals
3 beers 1.50 & 300cals

Total $16.25 & 3000 Calories
*Minimal vitamins, minerals, high amounts of trans fats, sugar/sodium and are low in potassium.
**A diet like this will increase your chances of sickness, disease and lethargy.

You can save $5/day or $35/week or $140/month in groceries if you eat closer to the first option. Plus, eating closer to the active mans 2500 calorie diet will save time and money going to the doctor, on medicine and will save you time from increasing your productivity.

To take this investigation even further... I will look at the time accumulated to prepare and eat meals for each person in the next blog!

Here are some tips for helping your kids or significant other pack a lunch:
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/lunch-box-pictures1.htm

Thanksgiving Feast

Have you been training Hard with me? Then you deserve a good meal and an active recovery!

Eat up and Enjoy this Thanksgiving. Think of it as a chance to 'recharge your batteries' as my Dad would say! One of my idols Tracy Anderson and trainer to Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow writes:

"Of all of the holidays throughout a given year, the one that seems to give people the most anxiety about missing their workout (and packing on pounds) is always Thanksgiving.  I am here to tell you to not worry, to enjoy yourselves tomorrow, and to eat all the stuffing and pumpkin pie that you need.  It's only 1 meal out of the year, and as I mentioned in my previous post, our social and emotional connection to food is so strong and it is important to not deprive yourself of the family table.  Don't make 100 calorie stuffing, reduced fat gravy, or gluten free pie (trust me, you will go to bed wishing you had had the real stuff).  Enjoy yourself, and on Friday, after you are ready for a little break, put on your workout clothes" and try a new physical activity or play a sport you enjoy!

She goes on "I believe that we all have a strong connection to family tradition and our roots, but we all want to look and feel our best.  It's important to stay fit, confident, and young at heart, but to also enjoy life through food.  The trends, education, and research on nutritional ways to lose weight, fight disease, and enhance longevity are ever-evolving.  While we can come together and make healthy changes, we also aren't programmed to forget our past.  We have an emotional connection to how we grew up and traditions - most of which have to do with food.  
I eat healthily most of the time and I don't eat processed foods, but I love all food groups.  I am a huge supporter of the family table and it is so important to enjoy meals with the great people in our lives.  However, that shouldn't mean that you can't also look and feel your best (even when indulging)"...

I definitely agree with Tracy and find importance in enjoying the foods you might have grown up with. All the foods rich in color(pumpkin, broccoli, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, cranberries, etc) are much better for you than the white refined foods (stuffing, gravy, butter, cream, cookies, cheeses, alcohol, etc)... But each of us have our own "comfort foods". For me, I like my Moms-Butternut Squash/Pumpkin Soup, her gravy, homemade stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce and of course homemade pumpkin pie w graham cracker crust with homemade whip cream... Mm, mmm, mmm! Damn, I was spoiled-haha!

Dr Joe Nutritionist in NY also recommends a big meal/week to spike your metabolism. Further, another one of my idols, celebrity trainer Jackie Warner of Sky Sport(where I now work) and TV show 'Workout', recommends not only one but two big(1200-1500 calorie) meals/week to help satisfy cravings.

These bigger meals paired with exercise and a clean diet the rest of the week Equal a healthy metabolism! Let this Thanksgiving "recharge your batteries" for more effective workouts, more focus finishing out the year and to help satiate your gut and soul: )

KFC is it worth it?

I am a personal trainer in Los Angeles and was low on groceries and only had two days of lunch and dinner left for the week.. I had a craving for KFC. I ordered 8 pieces of Original Recipe Chicken, 4 Biscuits, 2 corn on the cob and coleslaw. I highly regret getting KFC because the instant side affects were a crash of energy and feeling of sickness. The food is so loaded with salt and preservatives it sucked the life right out of me. The preservatives are meant to preserve the food, so naturally there is some resistance once it enters your stomach to being digested.

Maybe it is because I am not used to Fried and Fast foods but I had some seriously terrible feelings after eating it. I listed the ingredients below and there are a lot of them. When I make chicken... There is normally only 4 or 5 ingredients (chicken, salt, pepper, onions and garlic). The same with coleslaw and biscuits... Below I list the ingredients and there are a minimum of 10 ingredients/menu item. The staple ingredients in all of the items are salt, sugar and flour.

If you look at the complexity or simplicity of a piece of salt, sugar or flour VS say any other natural whole food ingredient it is much smaller and broken down. There is no nutritional value from any one of these. We do need sodium, but the amount eaten from natural foods is more than enough for us. One piece of chicken has more than 700mg of sodium. The RDA's (recomended daily allowance) is 2400mg but in Canada it is 500mg/day.

Biscuit
Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel, Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Buttermilk, Sugar, Baking Soda, Salt, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Nonfat Milk, Sodium Caseinate, DATEM, Whey Protein Concentrate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Whey, Wheat Protein Isolate, Natural Flavor. Liquid and Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Soybean Lecithin, Natural and Artificial Flavor, TBHO and Citric Acid Added to Protect Flavor, Beta Carotene (Color), Dimethylpolysidoxane, an Anti-foaming Agent Added. 530mg sodium/biscuit.

Cole Slaw
Vegetables: Chopped Cabbage, Carrots, and Onions. Sauce: Sugar, Soybean Oil, Vinegar (Distilled Vinegar, Corn and Cider Vinegar, Malt Vinegar, And Natural Flavors), Water, Salt, Whole Eggs, Modified Corn Starch, Mustard Flour, Xanthan Gum, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Paprika Extractives, Paprika, And Caramel Color.
Contains Egg. 180mg or sodium/serving of coleslaw.

Original Recipe® Chicken
Fresh Chicken Marinated With: Salt, Sodium Phosphate and Monosodium Glutamate. Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Sodium Chloride and Anti-caking agent (Tricalcium Phosphate), Nonfat Milk, Egg Whites, Colonel’s Secret Original Recipe Seasoning. 710mg sodium/piece of fried chicken breast.

I thought that KFC for lunch and dinner 2 days in a row would save me time, money and satisfaction. It resulted in a loss of time because I had less energy to accomplish what needed to be done. Extreme lethargy and a feeling of disgust. I had woken with stomach and back pains. As a result, I could have bought a broiled chicken, a bag of potatoes, ingredients for a salad, saved 5-bucks, felt a lot better and most importantly been able to enjoy my life.

This may be surprising to think a personal trainer can be so silly... But we all make mistakes and I was unaware it would affect me so drastically!

Stress---Human Beings are like Tea Bags!

You don't know you're strength until your put in hot water.

"Inner resources are those abstract qualities and characteristics that
become a tangible bridge over the chasm of chaos. These include, among
others, intuition, creativity, willpower, faith, humor, love, courage,
self-reliance, and optimism." In other words, when we have a stressful situation our character and inner character or true strength is brought out. Our ability to deal with certain situations using our character can make any situation a huge problem or a little 'bump in the road'.

Here are some ways to work on your inner character from the book Managing Stress 3rd Edition:

1- Make time for yourself (start with 5 minutes/day and work up to a half hour) to learn about and create yourself to handle stressful situations.

2- Understand your emotions. Figure out what is causing the 'stress'. Most of the time it is an emotion you are not familiar with... Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, excitement.

3- Have self esteem and creativity to deal with situations. This point ties into the previous two pointers. Understand that you are unique and growing towards a better you.

4- Balance your emotional, spiritual and physical self to keep
homeostasis... As stress is sometimes described as the lack of
homeostasis.

5- Be like a Baby. Curiosity, imagination and creativity-key characteristics that can help you deal with any situation.

Bryan from the Shiatsu Massage School of California in Santa Monica describes some people as being addicted to Stress! Cortisol, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine and other hormone levels that raise when we are over stimulated. Some people get addicted to this and need it to feel AWAKE... What a scary thought, because stress is proven to cause hypertension, some cancers, pain and other problems. Anatomical changes are caused by stress. Such as, an increase in sweat and constriction of muscles, making the body work harder. Having control of your mind, emotions, body and spirit (you as a whole) will make dealing with stress more tolerable.

Here are 6 steps to help you deal with stress:

1- Identify your stressors

2- Which of the above stressors cause anger and fear?

3- Try to balance your mind, emotions, body and spirit. Are any of these categories overwhelming or lacking? (ie. If stress occupies 50% or more of your emotions, you are out of balance and should try eliminating or modifying some commitments)

4- Try one of the following coping skills:
Cognitive Restructuring
Behavior Modification
Journal Writing
Art Therapy
Humor Therapy
Creative Problem Solving

5- Try one of the following relaxation techniques:
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Meditation
Hatha Yoga
Mental Imagery and Visualization
Music Therapy
Message Therapy
Tai Chi Ch'uan
Progressive Muscular Relaxation
Autogenic Training
Clinical Biofeedback
Healthy Nutrition
Exercise

6- Create your character to deal with stress... For example, if you like the way Eddie Murphy takes different life problems into perspective, try adapting his humor:)

*Everyone will have a different solution to dealing with stress, take the time to find what works best for you! At a young age, Bill Gates found out it was his intelligence, competitiveness and ambition that are his strengths and helped him achieve success(bizzle.com).

Information taken from and I highly recommend Managing Stress 3rd Ed. It gives great detail on all of these coping and relaxation techniques.

Should I use BMI as a guide? I have a lot of muscle.

How much should I weigh? Whats your Body Mass Index? Click here.

A healthy body weight should be defined by the following criteria:

- Body Fat Percentage. There is an increased risk of illness for young men with a Body Fat Percentage higher than 22 and higher than 25 for older men. There is an increased risk of illness for young women with a Body Fat Percentage higher than 32 and higher than 35 for older women.

- Intra-abdominal fat or central obesity is associated with increased risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and some types of cancer. Waist measurements for men above 40 inches and women above 35 inches are at greater risk of disease.

- Being underweight could be a sign of malnutrition, smoking, disease or a very active lifestyle.

- A medical history that reflects an absence of risk factors associated with obesity, such as elevated blood cholesterol, blood glucose or blood pressure. If she has a medical history of the diseases listed above she should do her best to keep her BMI, Body Fat Percentage and Waist Circumference in the zones listed above.

A 5'1" woman who weighs between 100-132lbs is considered healthy. She should also take into account her body fat percentage, waist circumference and medical history. Her body fat should be between 12-32% and her waist circumference should be smaller than 35 inches.

This information was taken from Understanding Nutrition, Ninth Edition and tops.org.

For nutrition or fitness coaching visit www.individualizedfitness.com
Thank you for reading: )

Nutrition is one way to deal with STRESS!

Stress on a human body can be caused by an over or under-reaction to the stressor. The body may flood itself with hormones to handle the problem. Myrin Borysenko suggests migraines, ulcers and hypertension can result from an increase in cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine and aldosterone.

Managing Stress 3rd Edition states:
"A malnourished diet-one that is deficient of essential amino acids, essential fats, vitamins, and minerals-is itself a stressor to the body. Research has shown that some foods actually induce a state of stress. Excess amounts of sugar, caffeine, salt and foods poor in vitamins and minerals weaken the body's resistance to the stress response, and may ultimately make a person more vulnerable to disease and illness. Food affects not only the physical body, but the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects as well. Eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains. Decrease your intake of caffeine, refined sugar, sodium and fats, to reduce the risk of stress-related problems."

Dr. Andrew Weil states "Eat more whole grains and products made from whole grains. Eat more fruits and vegetables of all kinds. Eat a varied diet rather than eating the same items every day. Increase the consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids by eating the appropriate fish, hemp or flax oil or flax meal regularly. Learn to identify and avoid all sources of hazardous transfatty acids: margarine, solid vegetable shortening, and all products made with partially hydrogenated oils of any kind."

It is a good idea to eat the following in high stress times because Stress Depletes:
Minerals... Calcium, Magnesium, chromium, copper, iron and zinc (seafood, meats, poultry)
Vitamins... A, C, E and B-Complex (carrots, citrus fruits, leafy greens)

Deficiency in any one vitamin can lead to a number of health-related problems. Vitamins, (found in grains, fruits and vegetables) themselves are not a source of energy but they do aid in energy production. On the other hand, an excess of fat soluble vitamins(A,D,E&K) (found in animal products) can lead to toxicity.

My suggestions:
1-Eat a diet rich in colorful fruits, veggies, whole grains and beans.
2-Moderate your intake of proteins.
3-Include Omega-3&6's (seeds, nuts, vegetable oil and fish).
4-Drink water.
5-Eat potassium and antioxidant rich foods (colorful fruits and veggies).
6- Eat a balanced breakfast not high in carbohydrates.
7- Take a multivitamin during high stress times.

AND

During high-stress times eat a diet low in the following because they suppress the immune system:
Eliminate partially hydrogenated oils (margarine, processed foods, vegetable shortening).
Elminate trans fats (processed and fast foods).
Sugars.
Caffeine.
Salt.
Alcohol.
Salad Dressing, fried foods, fast foods, desserts, appetizers.

If you use Alcohol to cope with Stress an excess will deplete:
Potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc
*Keep your alcohol intake to less than one drink/day.

The previous article is proof that a healthy diet can make dealing with stress more tolerable. Although this may not be the only answer for most people. To help deal with stress combine a healthy diet with exercise, breathing techniques, meditation or find what works best for you.


Information taken from Managing Stress 3rd Edition. For coaching on fitness or nutrition visit www.individualizedfitness.com

FEAR! Have you ever been afraid of doing something but Did it Anyway? I did, here's my story...

I was afraid of playing football in 5th Grade. I was continually
getting knocked on my ass by the bigger stronger players. I had doubts
and a lot of physical pain. Especially back pain. I was on the verge
of quitting, when Mr Phillips, my friends father encouraged me to
play.

In the face of fear, I decided to play.

And play I did.

I went on to lead the team in 6-12th grades in the weight room and on
the field. I became bigger, stronger and faster than most players by
8th grade. I was one of the most powerful football players in Northern
New Jersey during my Junior and Senior year. Earning honors in the
National Football Hall of Fame.

Can you turn your fear into accomplishment? Use the fear, worry or
doubt to fuel your Dreams and Challenges!

Do you Move? 80% of the US Population does not!

Do you move on a daily basis? 80% of the US Population is sedentary. Lack of movement causes diabetes and heart disease. A sedentary or inactive lifestyle is causing major problems in our entire nation.

How does this affect our nations Health Care?

Directly.

If we, as a nation are serious about curing the health care 'problem', we need to start in our homes!

What are you doing for fitness today?

MOVE IT EVERYDAY

Information taken from Judith G. Regensteiner PHD webcast through Diabetes.org

What should I eat before and after a workout?

The infamous question- What should I eat before and after a workout?

Well... It depends on your goals and the type of exercise you are doing.

If you are weight lifting or doing intense exercise (sweating), you are probably breaking down muscle. It is ideal to replenish your muscle stores with carbohydrates and repair your muscles with protein. The quickest way to do this is to use a liquid or protein shake or smoothie.

Protein Shake:
1 scoop of Whey Protein (20g of Protein)
1 banana
1/2 cup of frozen berries
4oz of Orange Juice
8oz of water

I suggest to my clients that want to lose weight, to have half of a shake before a workout and the other half after. This will supply your muscles with the energy and protein to repair and make lean sculpted muscles. Plus, drinking a shake within 1/2 to 1 hour after an intense workout will satiate your appetite.

A good alternate is milk or soy-milk if you are allergic or low on time. My room-mate drinks chocolate milk because she does not like the taste of 'Muscle Milk', 'Myoplex' or any other protein smoothie. This is a good time to have your sweets because your body needs to replace your energy stores and the sugars will digest quickly after a workout:)

On the other hand, if you are doing low intensity cardio or barely sweating, there is no immediate need to eat or drink anything right after a workout. You are probably utilizing fat as an energy source and most of us have plenty to spare. Try to go another hour without eating anything. When you are hungry try to just have an apple or small snack.

New Hormone Obesogen?!

Is this really happening? Chemicals that enter our bodies through poisoned food sources... If you were Ric O'Barry, director of 'The Cove' and winner of the Best Documentary at the 2010 Academy Awards, you may believe so. Similar to the polluted fish and dolphin being eaten in Japan, we are starting to eat more polluted beef, pesticides and plastics leaching into foods here in the States.

MSNBC states "Obesogens are chemicals that disrupt the function of hormonal systems; many researchers believe they lead to weight gain and, in turn, numerous diseases that curse the American populace. They enter our bodies from a variety of sources — natural hormones found in soy products, hormones administered to animals, plastics in some food and drink packaging, ingredients added to processed foods, and pesticides sprayed on produce. They act in a variety of ways: by mimicking human hormones such as estrogen, by misprogramming stem cells to become fat cells and, researchers think, by altering the function of genes."

MSNBC recommends these tips to avoid Obesogens:

1- Wash your fruits and vegetables to clean them of pesticides or buy organic.
2- Do not microwave foods in plastic containers to avoid leaching and use a non-plastic mug whenever you can.
3- Try organic and grass-fed beef.
4- Limit soy and eliminate high fructose corn syrup.

The article can be found at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35315651/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition//

Iron Beans?

I was was having beans as a side dish today and realized wow! There is a lot of iron, 40% of your RDA, in a serving (1/2cup)

This is a great source that lists foods with the most iron: http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/appendixB.htm#AppB3

Try adding some iron to prevent symptoms of: Ulcers, hemorrhoids, fatigue, shortness of breath, decreased alertness, anemia, and digestive problems.

"Iron is used to carry oxygen in the blood. Many teenage girls and women in their child-bearing years have iron-deficiency anemia. They should eat foods high in heme-iron (meats) or eat other non-heme iron containing foods along with a food rich in vitamin C, which can improve absorption of non-heme iron." http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/meat_why.html

Do you want to be stronger physically and socially?

I have recently realized how different kinds of workouts affect my mood and there can be some reasons why.

Weight Lifting makes me stronger physically, socially and my self-esteem increases. Using 1-8 repetitions while Weight lifting increases muscle strength, testosterone and growth hormone if coupled with adequate sleep and diet. Increasing the postural muscles on your skeleton makes all activities of daily living easier. Whether it is, walking groceries from the car to the kitchen, sitting upright all day or picking up the kids.

Low intensity cardio (without any weightlifting) makes me moody. Low Intensity cardio facilitates fat usage. Fat is considered a hormone not just an energy source. Low intensity cardio also increases the amount of type 1 or slow-twitch muscle fibers and increases blood flow, and better allows the body to use nutrients. Possibly, by ignoring the type-2 or fast-twitch muscles there is less Testosterone and Growth Hormone. But there is an increase in fat and estrogen in our bloodstream... Hence the moodiness.

Sprints make me energetic. Sprints are anaerobic and challenge the heart and lungs in the most recognized form of fitness known to man-running. Challenging your heart and lungs to their near maximum will increase your breathing capacity and make your activities of daily living easier.


Stretching and some yoga practices relax, increase joy and help me to focus. Stretching and some yoga relaxes muscles, the mind and increases blood flow. Yoga can be a form of meditation, where you allow the mind to relax and get into your body.

I suggest for different personalities:
Do you need to be more aggressive and assertive? Lift weights more regularly.
Do you need to relax and enjoy life a little more? Do some yoga or stretch.
Would you like to be more compassionate and sensitive towards other? Do some low intensity cardio.
Are you depressed? Try running some sprints;)

I find it is best to have a combination of all of these workouts for a healthy lifestyle. Try alternating between intense workouts and lower intensity workouts to allow your body to recover.

Do your legs work? If so, use them...

I had a meeting with two potential clients this week, both have serious knee problems. The knee problems are debilitating them. With the right guidance, I can get them back to a fully functioning gait allowing them to run, squat, walk, crawl, hop, leap, bound, skip, lunge or jump!

Appreciate all of these great movements given to us, they can be really fun. Allow yourself to let your legs go one day in a park and see how you are inspired to move...

Be thankful you are in good health and grateful you can use your legs.

Do you have double chins or do you chose to have double chins?

I was reading through my anatomy book the other day and stumbled across a muscle I never knew was there!

Mylohyoideus is the name of the muscle located on the front side of your neck that elevates your tongue and the floor of your mouth. It is possible to decrease the appearance of your chins by strengthening this muscle. Practice raising your tongue to the roof of your mouth for reps and you will soon have better control of the appearance of your chin or chins.

Other things to consider! Your body fat: a healthy goal for your body fat is between 12-25% for women and between 3-15% for men. Having less body fat will decrease the amount of fat in your face, neck, ankels (or 'cankles') and everything in between;)